Christian Commitophobia

Week Three: Dating

"Hillsdating and Other False Realities" by Julie at The Corner with a View
"Friendship that Lasts" by Trista at Not a Minx, a Moron, or a Parasite

"Christian Commitophobia" by Elizabeth at Startling the Day

This is the third post of a Lenten blog post series called "Bright Maidens." We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion!

"So you're an actively dating commitophobe who desperately wants to find Mr. Right?"

A friend recently summed up how the world categorizes my dating style. My answer to him at the time was a laugh and a "yes, you got it." But really, the answer is more complicated than that and the end result is: commitophobia isn't always a bad thing.

Break it down:

*Actively dating: yes. I'm getting to know men.

Your mom told you friendship should come first and I think she was right. You know how easy it is to be friends with someone with whom you really connect? Why deprive yourself of the same ease with a significant other? I am getting to know men as friends and taking it no faster than that, for the time being.

*Commitophobe: that's how the world sees me. I have dated several men over the years and I've gotten serious with one of them.

My 24th birthday is tomorrow. This makes me either a late bloomer (first date: age 15 -- pretty early), a weirdo (this is entirely possible, but what would that make you, dear reader?), in a place without a sufficient supply of men (that is not the case for anyone when online dating has graduated to non-sketchiness, for the most part) or a commitophobe.

*Desperately: No. Not desperately. Ouch. If I was desperately searching for Mr. Right, I think I would have found Mr. Okay Enough and married him by now.

Desperation, in this case, would cloud my mind and make me settle because the desperation would be less about finding the right person and more about hunkering down into the idea of marriage.

*Wants to find Mr. Right: check. If God is calling me to marriage, I feel prepared to meet the man I will marry. If He's not calling me to marriage, this post is still a pillar of what I believe about the subject of dating.

I want to be like them

In my teen years and in most of my college years, I felt the ache for the "kind of" companionship I witnessed in couples around me. I liked the idea of holding hands with a nice, cute boy and telling him about my day like the "other girls" did.

To have a male confidant who would be romantic and wait outside of school at the ending bell, leaning against the hood of his car, hand-picked long-stem roses in hand with a poem memorized for recitation... would be divine.

How dreamy this boy would be. He would treat me well, make me laugh, understand my cryptic humor, get along with my family, and respect my boundaries. Finally, the girls at my school would see that someone found me desirable and worthy enough to call me "girlfriend."

Insecurities like this feed like a parasite on most teenage girls. I'm so grateful to have my parents, for without the motivation to remain true to myself, I could have taken that crazy thought train into a premarital, sexual relationship with the first squeaky-voiced, teen guy who would show me any of the affection I craved.

To clarify, I was quite invisible in high school and was especially so in the minds of the the all-boys' brother school down the street. I was invisible, but I still emitted a non-silly air.

Being invisible erases the chance of pursuit by some disrespectful guy, but my demeanor prevented it, as well. A foundation of confidence supported me, though it was hidden under many layers of these insecurities, so the threat of losing myself never followed through.

Daddy

Naptime with Daddy

My hero, my Daddy, gets to take a lot of the credit for this. He was and is a spectacular part of my life and has built up quite an example of manhood. Any prospects, past or future, tend to pale in comparison.

I dated a few men in college and beyond but I often put the breaks on the momentum of the relationship, hence commitophobe. Of course, this has been an effort to avoid pain but also to avoid dating for the sake of dating.

My father's fervent devotion to our relationship and his relationships with my mother and my sisters prevents me from settling. In fact, he has made finding the right guy nearly impossible because of his example and ability to make me double over in laughter. He's ruined it for lots of men.

Why would I date someone when I can see he doesn't value the foundations that support my father's strong points?

Yes, as my friend from the beginning of the post pointed out to me, it takes a long time to get to know someone. This doesn't mean we launch into an emotional and physical relationship with everyone who shows interest in us.

When we approach dating as a way to get to know someone instead of a mid-life circus act to convince someone to like us, we can reach a level of comfort.

Taking this path allows both parties to "interview" the other in the same way they learn about other friends. If it turns out that there is something missing between you, at least you haven't fumbled through a physical relationship before its too late to get out relatively unscathed.

Another friend once described the ideal relationship between a man and woman like a triangle. As a man and a woman work toward God at the top of the triangle, they're also getting closer to each other.

Seeking to know God helps us grow closer to each other because of the Love that growing close to God fosters.

I have not always agreed with this. In fact, for a time I was pretty cavalier with giving away my kisses and entertaining the idea of dating men who didn't hold value for the walk toward God.

When it came down to it, my deep-rooted "commitophobia" prevented me from ignoring my inner voices and slapping a "boyfriend" label on the relationship.

Now I believe skipping the step of getting to know someone before allowing a physical relationship to try to push it along is counter productive. Kissing is great fun  
because of the chemicals it releases and the bond it creates between two people.

I don't want a bunch of chemicals clouding my mind in the early stage of knowing someone. My mind is cloudy enough. I'm a Christian Commiophobe.

Prepare now

It doesn't take much to set off a teen, but if you wanted to ignite my temper in high school, all you had to do was put on an "Elizabeth's Mom" mask and say the words, "It will happen when you least expect it."

So many other nuggets of my mother's advice have proven annoyingly true, so I've decided to trust that she's right. In the meantime, I'm surrounding myself with a cushion of wonderful, beautiful friends.

My close friends are good, faithful people who help me walk closer to God with each step.

Keeping them around is narrowing my choices in dating even more because I will not be caught off guard or charmed when someone treats me with respect or agrees with my core beliefs. I have a whole pile of those friends at home. Those are now nonnegotiable traits.

This was one of the hardest posts to write and I think it's because these are new conscious beliefs based on the subconscious beliefs I've held my entire life. I've always been a little afraid of getting to close to someone in a romantic relationship.


It has taken years of reflection, but I'm grateful for my commitophobia. I know I won't settle; I know I will attempt to see every friendship and relationship as a journey to Christ and to becoming who I am.

"The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little." -Thomas Merton